“The time has come. The kingdom of God is near.
Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:14).
Jesus began his preaching ministry by announcing the kingdom
of God, a theme that found expression not only in his
preaching but also in his teaching and healing as well. So we
should not be surprised that when his disciples asked him how
to pray, the second request Jesus taught them to make was “Thy
kingdom come.”
Our next study will look at what it means to pray that God’s
kingdom come. But the petition will be more meaningful once we
have explored the nature, mystery and boundaries of the
kingdom of God.
The nature of
kingdom
In trying to understand the nature of God’s kingdom,
modern Christians first face the problem of those who insist
on eliminating the very word from the Church’s
vocabulary. Critics variously claim that “kingdom”
is too sexist, patriarchal and/or militaristic for
contemporary sensibilities. They insist that “rule”
or “reign” be used as a substitute. Unfortunately,
as is so often the case when Biblical language is sacrificed
on the altar of culture, meaning suffers.
As Ronald Glass notes, a study of the Old Testament reveals
that the Biblical concept of kingdom “must involve a
king,
or ruler invested with sovereignty (authority). … It must
also include a
realm, a territory over which the king
governs, together with the
subjects, or the body of
persons ruled.” Similarly, the New Testament Greek
baseleia,
best translated “kingdom,” conveys both the dynamic
act of governing and the more static concept of territory.
Looking at God’s kingdom as a realm, we see analogies,
though definite contrasts, between the kingdom of God and
earthly kingdoms. We can enter the kingdom (Matt. 5:20; 7:21;
18:3) and we can also be put out of it. (Matt. 8:12). There
are keys to the kingdom (Matt. 16:19) and it can be closed to
some by the actions of others (Matt. 23:13).
The vision of the kingdom of God as God’s rule or
reign is deeply rooted in the Old Testament. Throughout the
Old Testament, Yahweh is known and praised as the true King of
Israel, even though the phrase “the kingdom of God”
is never used. (See, among many, Ex. 15:18; Psalm 47; 95:1-3;
Isa. 44:6.) The concept of God’s reign is also found from
the beginning of the New Testament (Luke 1:33) to its end
(Rev. 11:15-17).
If attempts at cultural accommodation result in contemporary
Christians reducing God’s kingdom to either reign or
realm, the result will be like looking at the world with one
eye closed. We require two functioning eyes to maintain proper
depth perception, to walk around without bumping into things.
Similarly, to maintain our perspective on the kingdom of God
we must hold together the concepts of activity and territory,
both of which are conveyed by the biblical word “kingdom.”
The mystery of the
kingdom
Phillip Yancey notes that “Jesus never offered a clear
definition of the kingdom; instead he imparted his vision of
it indirectly through a series of stories. His choice of
images is telling: everyday sketches of farming, fishing,
women baking bread, merchants buying pearls.”
The gospels record 11 parables in which Jesus speaks about
the kingdom of God or, synonymously, the kingdom of heaven.
Many are clustered in Matthew 13 and begin “The kingdom
of heaven is like …” Using images and analogies
instead of definitions, Jesus taught his followers much about
the kingdom of God. But perhaps the most important message of
the kingdom parables is that we do not grasp God’s
kingdom; rather the kingdom of God reaches out and pulls us
in, in part through these very illustrations. As N.T. Wright
observes:
“The parables are not simply
information about
the kingdom, but are part of the
means of bringing it
to birth. … They do not merely give people something to
think about. They invite people into the new world that is
being created, and warn of dire consequences if the invitation
is refused. Jesus’ telling of these stories is one of the
key ways in which the kingdom breaks in upon Israel.”
Entering the
kingdom
From his first sermon, “Repent and believe,” to his
post-resurrection Great Commission, “Go and make
disciples,” Jesus insisted that the inbreaking of God’s
kingdom required a response from every individual. And yet,
Jesus also taught that God’s kingdom is pure gift, one
that comes to a person without a person’s help or action.
How, then, does one enter the new world God is creating? That
was a discussion that unfolded when Nicodemus came to talk to
Jesus in the night. Evidently, Jesus’ miracles had
convinced Nicodemus that Jesus was no ordinary teacher but
that God was with him in a unique and powerful way.
In response, Jesus abruptly shifted the course of the
conversation, telling the Jewish religious leader, “no
one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again [or,
from above]” (John 3:3). When Nicodemus expressed
astonishment, Jesus continued:
“I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of
God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives
birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You
should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born
again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its
sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is
going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John
3:5-8).
Jesus insists that the new birth, the new beginning, must be
the work of the Spirit, who comes from “above.” The
origin of the kingdom determines the nature of its citizens.
To understand the kingdom of God, individuals must be related
to Jesus by the new birth from above.
As Lesslie Newbigin summarizes, “to experience the
kingship of God as a present reality (not merely a future
hope) can only be the result of an act of God himself. It is
always a miracle, a mystery, an action ‘from above.’
… it is a matter of regeneration. It is not just new
seeing but new being.”
Boundaries of the
kingdom
In a simple yet startling statement, William Willimon and
Stanley Hauerwas remind us “Kingdoms have boundaries.
There are those who are citizens, and there are those who are
not.” Nevertheless, they continue, “God’s
kingdom boundaries obliterate all of the world’s false
means of demarcation between human beings. Here is a kingdom
open to all, with no consideration given for the world’s
boundaries. Our boundary is baptism.”
Or, as Jesus put it, in order to enter the kingdom of God “You
must be born again.”
Jesus resisted the temptation to take control of the kingdoms
of the world (Luke 4:5-8). He refused to use the world’s
means to establish an earthly reign and realm (John 6;15;
18:36). Instead he heralded the arrival of a new kingdom, a
kingdom in this world yet not of it. Jesus came inviting us to
join up with that heavenly kingdom. Seeing the kingdom at hand
requires a response, a decision – enabled by the Holy
Spirit – to repent and believe the good news.
Thus God’s kingdom is his gift to his people, who by
water and the Spirit have been born from above. It comprises
both his reign and his realm, yet remains mysterious even to
those whom he has given eyes to see and ears to hear (Matt.
13:16).
It is both temporal and eternal, already a concrete reality
among us, but one that has not yet arrived in all its
fullness. It is that for which we have been taught to pray, “Thy
kingdom come.”
For
Discussion
1.
Why must Christians understand God's kingdom
to include both activity and territory?
2. Why did Jesus
teach about the kingdom of God in parables?
3. How is being
born again connected to entering the kingdom of God?
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Additional Resources
Ronald N. Glass, “The
Parables of the Kingdom,” in Evangelical
Hermeneutics (Camp Hill, Pa.: Christian
Publications, 1995); Lesslie Newbigin, The Light Has
Come (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997); Willimon,
William H., and Stanley Hauerwas, Lord Teach Us: The
Lord’s Prayer and Christian Life (Nashville:
Abingdon, 1996); N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory
of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996); Philip
Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1995).
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